Former Cabinet Secretary for Education Fred Matiang’i today (Wednesday) appeared before the National Assembly’s public investment committee on Education and Governance.
He was responding to queries on the closure of all campuses operated by public universities outside the country during his tenure.
Matiang’i, who was the then Education CS is said to have ordered the closure of the Kenyatta University (K.U) campus in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018 without proper consultations.
“Accountability for such decisions is crucial to prevent future mismanagement,” read the summoning report.
Auditor General’s Report
The report comes in the wake of an inspection tour around the nation conducted by a group of Committee members on September 27 under the leadership of Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima.
Matiangi was last seen when he showed up at the DCI offices in March to make a statement on an alleged police raid at his home in February.
An audit question from the Auditor General’s report for the 2019–20 fiscal year, which revealed that the university had closed despite having spent a total of KSh420.7 million prompted the visit.
The Auditor General claims that there were no economic benefits to the nation as a result.
“Despite the University’s assurance that all necessary checks were done before opening the campus, the management has not yet recovered the full amount spent,” the Auditor General added.
Closure of campus during Matiang’i tenure
According to reports, the institution was closed due to operational problems brought on by the Rwandan government.
The National Treasury has since approved the sale of the property in Kigali.
However, in its response, management told the committee that the University had started the process of closing the Campus as instructed by the Treasury after receiving a directive from the Ministry of Education.
As a stop-gap measure, the University Council approved leasing the property to produce rental income projected at KSh4.5 million per month.
It also blamed the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the economy during the time period for the delay in the sale of the property.
